For the first time in six
months, there has been some improvement recently on
humanitarian access to Syria, but much more needs to be done
by the parties to the conflict to ensure rapid and
unhindered access to people in need, a senior United Nations
relief official told the Security Council today.

“The
progress in access during the past month has shown that
where there is political will, there is a way to improve the
situation for millions of civilians in Syria. We must all
redouble our efforts until we reach everyone in need with
humanitarian assistance,” saidAssistant Secretary-General for
Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator
Kyung-wha Kang.

Six months ago, the Security Council
adopted resolution 2139 with the aim of pressing the parties
to the conflict to abide by basic international legal
obligations and to reduce the suffering of ordinary people
caught up in the conflict.

Last month, the 15-member body
adopted resolution 2165, authorizing cross-border and
cross-line access for the UN and its partners to deliver
humanitarian aid in Syria without the consent of the State,
and establishing a monitoring mechanism for 180
days.

“We are reaching more people in need in
hard-to-reach areas as a result of the adoption of
resolution 2165 by this Council,” said Ms. Kang, reporting
that for the first time in six months, there has been some
improvement on humanitarian access.

She added the
monitoring mechanism is now operational at the three border
crossings of Bab al-Hawa, Bab al-Salam and Al Ramtha. The
deployment of monitoring teams to Iraq remains pending due
to insecurity in the north-western part of the country, but
the situation is constantly being assessed.

Access across
borders has resulted in broader coverage in hard-to-reach
areas in Syria such as Aleppo, Dara, Rural Damascus, Idleb,
Quineitra and Lattakia Governorates. The UN has now sent
nine shipments to Syria from neighbouring countries pursuant
to resolution 2165. This included seven shipments from
Turkey and two from Jordan.

“More shipments are planned
over the next month in close coordination with the
humanitarian team in Damascus, in line with the UN’s
whole-of-Syria approach where cross-line and cross-border
access complement each other to maximize our reach to those
in need,” said Ms. Kang.

“Despite these developments,
much more needs to be done by the parties to ensure that
access is rapid, regular, safe, and unhindered,” she
added, noting that 241,000 people remain under siege.

She
said administrative hurdles imposed by the Government of
Syria continue to hamper the delivery of aid. Governors are
still not allowed to approve the delivery of humanitarian
assistance in their governorates without first consulting
Damascus.

In addition, the operational constraints placed
on non-governmental organizations have not been removed.
Designated terrorist groups, as well as armed opposition
groups, continue to block access to the hard-to-reach
eastern governorates of Syria.

Ms. Kang warned that the
Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the Al-Nusra
Front are advancing towards the border crossings of Bab
al-Salam and Bab al-Hawa along the main access routes in
Syria, and that this could threaten the additional
cross-border operations authorized under resolution
2165.

On the overall humanitarian situation, she reported
that over the past six months, the plight of people in Syria
has not reduced but has deepened.

“The violence and
conflict continues unabated, with more deaths of women,
children and men. The social and economic fabric of the
country has been ripped to shreds,” she
stated.

According to data collected by human rights
organizations from various sources, July 2014 was a
“particularly harrowing month” since the start of the
conflict for civilians in Syria, with over 1,000 civilian
deaths and injuries.

In Aleppo Governorate, a marked
increase in the indiscriminate use of barrel bombs by the
Government was registered in residential neighbourhoods,
where civilians, including women and children, with no means
to leave, still struggle to survive.

“The advancement of
ISIL into central Syria is taking the violence meted out to
unprotected civilians to a new level. The group continues to
commit horrific atrocities against those opposing its
rule,” said Ms. Kang.

In Deir-Ez-Zor, for example,
community sources report that up to 700 members of the
Al-Sheitaat Arab tribe, whom ISIL accused of apostasy, have
been killed or kidnapped over the past two weeks, some
beheaded or crucified. Reports also indicate that women from
the tribe are being sold in markets in Iraq.

“Now more
than ever before, the Council must do all it can to end the
conflict and ensure that humanitarian access increases so
that we can reach all those who are desperately in need in
Syria,” Ms. Kang stated.

“UN humanitarian agencies and
our partners are doing everything we can to meet those
needs, but, as we have repeatedly said, the solution to this
crisis does not rest with
us.”

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